Abstract: Sexual minorities have been found more likely to report poorer health outcomes (e.g., greater anxiety, depression, lower acceptance) and greater social media usage than their heterosexual counterparts. While it is generally accepted they utilize social media in beneficial manners, including information-seeking, following and interacting with LGBTQ+ media personae, and connecting with other LGBTQ+ individuals for social support and community connection, less is understood about the specific roles and processes behind beneficial LGBTQ+ social media usage. The goal of this dissertation was to better understand the relationship between social media usage and well-being within the LGBTQ+ community through Uses and Gratifications Theory and the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis, examining the roles of social media gratifications and parasocial relationships on reducing feelings of prejudice (societal, CH; personal, IH) and increasing online social connectedness (OSC) and positive psychological outcomes (PPO; self-acceptance and well-being). A sample of 182 sexual minority adults completed an online survey including measures of browsing/variety-seeking (BVS), parasocial interactions (PSI) and relationships (PSR), perceived similarity (SIM), CH, IH, OSC, and PPO. Both the hypothesized model and alternative model were tested via structural equation modeling. Overall, support was mixed for the hypothesized model: greater BVS predicted greater PSI, which then predicted greater SIM, which then predicted greater PSR. However, greater PSR predicted greater (as opposed to lesser) CH, which then predicted greater IH, which then predicted less OSC, while OSC did not predict PPO in any manner. More support was found for an alternative model with better statistical fit and support from the literature. The findings provide insights into LGBTQ+ social media usage and well-being, extending the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis to intrapersonal contexts, examining gratifications from Uses and Gratifications Theory 1.0 and 2.0 working together, and identifying healthy social media usage for LGBTQ+ individuals. Future work should be longitudinal and socio-demographically diverse to help better understand for whom and for when this type of social media usage is beneficial for sexual minorities. The present findings also shield light on surprising roles CH plays with PSRs and PPO, findings that should be investigated more fully in future work.

This event is the oral defense of "Bipolarity Redux: Asymmetry, Russia's Neo-Eurasianist Project, and Ideology-Induced International Change," submitted for the degree of PhD in Political Science.

Advancements in Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling with Applications to Behavioral Health Studies. (Statistics)

Kangkang Zhang from the Accounting Department of the Business School will hold the dissertation defense on May 28 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM in the Boardroom of the Business Building. The paper is titled "SEC Investigations of Public Pensions" and examines the effects of SEC scrutiny on public pension functioning.

ANSC MS Defense: Henry SchoberDate: 05/29/2025Time: 8:00 AMLocation: Hybrid

se the following link to join the Webex meeting: https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/uconn-cmr/j.php?MTID=m6a8fad4f3bd2d2a7da8847ecf9f80ead (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fuconn-cmr.webex.com%2Fuconn-cmr%2Fj.php%3FMTID%3Dm6a8fad4f3bd2d2a7da8847ecf9f80ead&data=05%7C02%7Cmichael.melnik%40uconn.edu%7C7a614740da32410a50a208dd970c479e%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C638832801657743367%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jUS%2B%2FOhUFGPl0VHmwPzCKcXEk%2BJSN71Te10ND2%2F9rmU%3D&reserved=0) or arrive in ARJ 225 at 1pm on May 29th.Committee: Rory McGloin, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Major Advisor Elizabeth Hintz, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Associate Advisor Tyler Page, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Associate AdvisorAbstract Employee engagement is a key driver of organizational success, influencing productivity, retention, and morale. However, engagement levels across the United States are declining as workforce demographics shift and employee expectations evolve. In response, many organizations are turning to internal communication as a practical and strategic solution to improve engagement. This study explores the evolving relationship between internal communication and employee engagement by contextualizing the historical development of scholarship in both areas. Through interviews with communication professionals, the research aims to provide insights and identify strategies that can be implemented in other organizations. These findings will serve as a roadmap for organizations seeking to enhance employee engagement through more effective communication strategies.

A Mixed Methods Analysis of the Impact of Stigma on the Health Outcomes of Internet-based Male Sex Workers. This dissertation uses both a quantitative and qualitative study to examine the relationships between multiple forms of stigma and substance use as well as explore how male sex workers negotiate and resist stigma in their everyday lives. This student is a doctoral candidate at the UConn School of Social Work.

Dissertation Title: Treatment Beyond Crime and Cure: The Assemblages of Addiction Expertise During the Opioid Epidemic Doctoral Field of Study: Sociology Keywords: Expertise, Sociology of Knowledge, Public Health Crisis

Soumyashree Sahoo, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Connecticut, will present and defend her doctoral dissertation titled "Predicting Depression Treatment Outcomes Using Smartphone Data: An Exploration of Self-Ratings, Location, and Medication Data." Her research leverages mobile sensor data, self-reported surveys, and medication-related features to develop machine learning models that predict depression symptom improvement status in individuals during treatment.

Title of dissertation: Optimal Subsampling Methods and Their Applications for Rare-events and Transfer-learning Doctoral field of study: Methodology of statistics, Subsampling algorithms, Rare-events analysis, Data fusion and transfer-learning.